A woman was dragged from her car and raped outside the Cheadle branch of John Lewis early on Friday evening, according to Greater Manchester police.

Manchester Evening News

In a statement, Greater Manchester police reported that a man opened the door of a car belonging to the woman, who has not been named and is in her late twenties, and dragged her into nearby bushes before sexually assaulting her.

Detective Inspector Richard Ennis said: "This young lady has suffered a deeply traumatic ordeal and we have a team of detectives who are working on this case to try and identify the man that did this to her."

The attacker was described as wearing black jogging bottoms and having black hair; distinctive-looking heavily pockmarked, open-pored skin on his face; and a thick black monobrow.

It is thought that the attacker waited in a cut-through between the Wilmslow-Handforth bypass and the junction of Wilmslow Road and Etchells Road, near to the car park, and police are appealing for information on a man fitting the attacker's description seen around that area.

Ennis added: "The description of this attacker is very distinctive, with deep pock-type scars on his face, and I am hoping that this may jog someone's memory to call us, so we can find the person responsible and take him off our streets."

A spokesperson for John Lewis told BuzzFeed News: "We are shocked to hear of the incident which happened on Friday night near our shop. The safety of our customers and partners [staff] is our main concern and we are doing everything we can to support the police in their investigations."